Sunday, February 25, 2018

My guest writer Maureen Larter

I’ve done it! I’ve found a way to get rid of all those humungous zucchinis you miss on the vine! I cut them up in thin slices and dehydrate them!
So? What’s so good about that, you ask?
Well, they can then be preserved – and I can add them to stews,
casseroles and other slow-cooked meals in Winter. But, best of all – if I
dehydrate them until they are crisp then they can be thrown into a
blender with other dehydrated vegetables and blended into a powder! My very own vegetable stock powder to add to just about anything.
I love the dehydration process. I have dried all
sorts of things, from making my own jerky that comes from marinated beef
strips to Apples dowsed in lemon juice for a healthy snack.
I was given a dehydrator as well as buying my own, so I when I use them, it is a use of electricity
that I don’t mind. I will have to make my own dehydrator as well, so
that I can make use of our powerful sun here in Australia. A win/win
situation – free power from the sun, and an easier way to preserve the
harvest. Can any body tell me an easy way to make one? I do have to
tell you – I am hopeless with tools! Now – which way do you hold a
hammer???
Coming back to the zucchini problem (and if you grow your own you
know just how many zucchinis you will have!) – I add dried pumpkin,
carrot, celery, onion, garlic and a little salt to my vegetable powder,
and it can be added as a seasoning as well.
Years ago, I could buy mushroom stock and bacon stock – both of which
are no longer available in my country town. Those are the next powders I
am going to try. Onion salt, garlic salt and celery salt are other
combinations I can try
Sorry to rave on about dehydrating
this time, but I got all excited when I thought about the beauty of
being able to bring down a huge vegetable into a small jar! I know … I’m
strange! The old saying – small things please … well you can finish
that saying for yourself!
Last week, I was given a large box of very soft tomatoes – too far
gone to eat fresh. I cooked them down to make a passata/paste from them
and ended up with 3 small jars of intense flavour. So much you can do
without having to spend loads of money. I know my electricity bill will be higher, but with a solar dehydrator, that also will be solved.
All for now. Keep dreaming and acting on your dreams.
With Kindness.
Maureen
Another book that you might like to read to your children ( email me on maureenlarter@gmail.com if you want a ‘real’ book rather than an ebook.)
Written by me and illustrated by Annie Gabriel, this book tells the story of the seasons and the changes in the forest.